Grounded
by silverfox98
Summary: A daughter dances...but she never sees... A mother worries...but could never understand...And an enemy watches...intent on keeping the daughter on the plains of reality. If you squint, its also a romance.


**Challenge: **Evanescence Challenge for Gamma Orionis

**Prompt/Song: **Evanescence, "Imaginary"

**Pairing: **Draco/Ginny  
><strong><br>Rating: **T for dark themes

**Summary: **She lingers...but she never sees...

**Authors Note: **A little...no a lot, darker than my usual stories. But...well the song is dark too so... Anyway, thanks to Kenny for actually helping me get through this whole thing. I like it, and I hope this gets me back into the swing of things.

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing. :(

_I linger in the doorway_  
><em>Of alarm clock screaming<em>  
><em>Monsters calling my name<em>  
><em>Let me stay<em>  
><em>Where the wind will whisper to me<em>  
><em>Where the raindrops, as they're falling, tell a story<em>

...

She sleeps, eyes closed, lips slightly parted, peaceful. Her blood red lips twist slightly in her stupor, a grotesque imitation of a smile as her eyes open wide, staring at the blank wall, hair wild. She stands and walks through the open door, forever smiling, eyes blank to the world as night engulfs her.

…

He watches from the shadows as she battles the voice inside her every few seconds, the insanity erasing from her eyes as she stiffens before she succumbs again to the monster raging inside her. He thinks, _maybe he could help her._  
>But he never does.<p>

…

The wind rages as she walks through the fields, her eyes glazed as she sees swaying flowers in the cool breeze, as fierce winds tear her flimsy robes to shreds. Rain pours down, plastering her hair her hollow face and clothes as she still walks, legs moving on their own, without a cause. The winds howl and the rain drenches, but she feels nothing but the imaginary flowers on her skin, the light breeze tussling her hair.

She sees nothing as she approaches the hut, only paper flowers.

…

He watches in complete silence as she approaches the cage. He watches as she grabs the roosters blindly, breaking their thin necks swiftly. And the whole time, she doesn't see, only staring at the blinding moon in contemplation. He wonders what she sees as her blank eyes turn straight at him, unnerving, and she heads back towards the castle without another glance.

She is never swayed from her carved path.

…

She struggles against the invisible force pulling her, one side of her mind lulled into the silence of purple skies and pink, wispy clouds, the other side fighting against the wall of confusion, thrashing and causing chaos in a war for control. Eyes wild, she is pulled, unable to stop herself from heading back.

In her sleep, her shields slip away, and the voice returns, taunting. Visions of flowery meadows and rainbow skies dance through her mind.

She dances with them.

...

_Don't say I'm out of touch_  
><em>With this rampant chaos - your reality<em>  
><em>I know well what lies beyond my sleeping refuge<em>  
><em>The nightmare I built my own world to escape<em>

…

A mother watches her daughter, weary as she dances through the kitchen to her own lullaby. Her pale skin glows like porcelain, and she treats the girl as such. She skips, she sways, and even in reality, she is asleep, unable to see anything but her wild fantasy.

…

The world thinks her insane, and at times, she understands. But those times are rare, as she knows just how insane she has become. She knows what the world is like, and knows that she would never be able to survive the reality surrounding her. So she is content to let others treat her as one would treat a babe, as long as she is able to dance through her own meadows in an attempt to calm the chaos that reality had bestowed on her.

She is afraid.

…

He watches her drift between two worlds, unable to pick what she wants the most. Her eyes are clear, but her motions are not. He sees her as no one else does, understanding her desire to dance in the arms of a shadowed fellow for all eternity, understanding her need for a nightmare to take away the fear of the world around her.

And so he awakens her.

…

In her sleep, she thrashes, haunting images of the past and the present following her every move.

So when he approaches, she does not see him, only seeing the man she dreams of taking her away. And he is content with that. As she dreams of a hero who is not there, one who would protect her from the silent, blinding night, he guides her, taking on the task he never believed he would have an incentive to become; the hero.

…

When they approach the mother, he is afraid. Hands sweat while she slides her delicate ones from his own broad fingers, unable to do anything as she floats to the doors and knocks once, twice, three times.

The light is blinding, and she recoils in fear. He holds her tight, letting her claw at his cloak in attempt of freedom. He knows she wants to be away, to dance again through the clouds, but he does not let her.

He holds her steady, the only chain she has to keep her grounded.

...

_Swallowed up in the sound of my screaming_  
><em>Cannot cease for the fear of silent nights<em>  
><em>Oh, how I long for the deep sleep dreaming<em>  
><em>The goddess of imaginary light<em>

…

In her dreams, as she lays with her white-haired hero, she swims through a smooth ocean of blues and greens. She can see no land, yet she never drowns, swimming for eternity. She is at peace, watching her red hair in fascination while it floats on the lazy waves. She rides, and watches the dancing fairies engulf the white moon.

Then, a hand reaches for her precious ocean, seeking to pull it all into himself, taking away her fantasy, leaving nothing for her to drift forever in. She screams, unable to take the pain of the water pulling away, and as she awakens, she sees.

Grey eyes stare back.

…

He is gone for months, away in another country, and she wallows. She never wakes, sleeping in an attempt to wash away all of her fears. The water has lessened, barely a puddle for her to sleep in, and she decides.

…

He returns, chest heaving as he slams the door. He dashes into the bedroom and sees the bed made and _her body_, gone. He knew her habits like he knew his own, and he knows she would sleep for all eternity if given the chance.

So he runs.

…

Her lips twist into a grotesque imitation of a smile as her arms open to the waves. The light shines on her pale face as she steps closer to the edge of the high cliff. All she sees is the crashing waves of the rocks, the bright blue and yellow horizon beckoning her.

And she answers.

…

He knows she is asleep somewhere, the fantasy at last taking over her own reality. He approaches the cliff warily, and finds a wisp of hair, snagged on the branch of an evergreen. He imagines her footsteps as she lands in the ocean, and he thinks, _Maybe I could join her. _

He does.

_In my field of paper flowers_

_And candy clouds of lullaby _

_I lie inside myself for hours_

_And watch my purple sky fly over me... _

_..._

_**Word Count with the song:**__ 1159_

_Please Read and Review! I would really love feedback! :D  
><em>


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